THE weather this summer really has been `utterly extraordinary', says an expert at Manchester University.

But he says it's only been a taste of things to come.

Physicist Geraint Vaughan carries out research in atmospheric science and believes many more troubles lie ahead.

Prof Vaughan, 52, who is also president of the Royal Meteorological Society, said: "I think we are too complacent about the weather we are going to get in coming decades.

"We need to be far more aggressive in our attempts to reduce carbon dioxide outputs and our use of fossil fuels.

"There will be a rise in temperatures of between 2C and 4C by the end of the century, with my best guess putting the final figure at the higher end of the spectrum. What is happening now will be nothing compared to what occurs then."

The society meets in Edinburgh today and scientists will hear the latest evidence of mankind's impact on the climate.

A total of 358.5mm of rain fell this summer, after Britain had been expecting another scorching June, July and August. Instead, this summer is likely to beat 1956 as the wettest on record.

Prof Vaughan said the dreadful weather, which flooded large areas and caused an estimated £2.7bn damage, was due to jet streams - fast-flowing, air currents that sweep through the atmosphere 36,000ft up.

Britain is usually stuck with one that traps warm air over the country, but this year it was bottled up to the south and east, bringing downpours here and scorching temperatures to the Mediterranean.

Climate change is altering the face of the planet and its maps, says a leading atlas.

Map makers have had to redraw coastlines and reclassify land for the new Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World.